The Sultan's Garden: The Blossoming of Ottoman Art * The Textile Museum, Washington DC * 21 September 2012 - 10 March 2013

The latest exhibition to be enjoyed at the fabulous Textil Museum is a dsplay of Ottoman pieces reflecting the wealth, abundance, and influence of an empire which spanned seven centuries and, at its height, three continents. Particularly interesting for sampler lovers are the narratives of how stylized tulips, carnations, hyacinths, honeysuckles, roses, and rosebuds came to embellish nearly all media produced by the Ottoman court beginning in the mid-16th century and how they exerted an influence on western designs and needlework. Above you can see a detail of a skirt border from Crete from the 17th century. Private collection.

The Textile Museum is currently housed in two historic buildings in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Visitors enter the Museum through the former home of the Museum's founding family which was designed by John Russell Pope in 1913. Above is a cap from Damascus or Aleppo, Syria of around 1800. Private Collection

Here you can see detail from an embroidered cover from Istanbul dated to the 16th/early 17th century. TM 1.22. Acquired by George Hewitt Myers. From mid 2014 the Textile Museum is joining with The George Washington University, a leading university in Washington, DC to become the cornerstone of a new museum on GW’s main campus in Foggy Bottom. The affiliation positions The Textile Museum to educate the next generation and expand on its rich tradition of art, education, scholarship and cultural understanding. Exhibitions and programs will be presented to the public in a custom-built, approximately 35,000 square foot museum building located at G and 21st Streets, bearing the names of both The Textile Museum and the George Washington University Museum. The new museum will include dedicated galleries for The Textile Museum, the Arthur D. Jenkins Library for the Textile Arts and The Textile Museum Shop. In addition to the downtown location, GW will construct a 20,000 square foot conservation and resource center on its Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Loudoun County, Va., for the study and care of The Textile Museum and the university's collections. All good news. For more details and to see other exhibitions at The textile Museum, click here.